Combined school district management proposed

ORANGE — The superintendent of schools for Ralph C. Mahar Regional School and Union 73 has proposed an agreement between the three school districts she oversees and the Pioneer Valley Regional School District to share administrative services as a way to save money.

The four districts would share a superintendent and director of finance, under the plan put forth by Tari Thomas, who is superintendent for the Orange Elementary, Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Petersham Center school districts. She suggests that her districts join with Pioneer Valley Regional School District because they’re all struggling with lower enrollment and rising health care and special education costs. “We suffer from lost potential capacity due to our small size with no easy solution in sight,” Thomas wrote in a project proposal. “Working together with our neighbors on what makes sense for kids and communities is an important next step, yet the best solution for one district may not be the best for another.”